For the first time in a long while, Metallica have officially released a new song to the public. The iconic thrashers have been performing 'Lords of Summer' for quite some time and even shared a "garage demo version" of the track via YouTube, but now, the latest version of 'Lords of Summer' is available for download via iTunes!

Right in time for the first day of summer, Metallica's 'Lords of Summer' (First Pass Version) is available to purchase on iTunes. Although there aren't any monumental changes made to this latest edition of 'Lords of Summer,' the song does seem tighter and features some changes here and there that one with fine-tuned ears will pick up on.

"The solo that's on the demo track was all we had time to do," guitarist Kirk Hammett recently told Guitar World. "I barely knew what I was gonna do and didn't have time to really formulate anything. We told everyone that the song was a demo version…and the solo is really a demo version. [Laughs] If you compare the solo in the demo version to what I've been playing live at those South American shows, it's a lot better and more refined now."

In a post released through Metallica's official website, the band introduced the song's most recent edition:

Welcome to the official start of summer! Along with the longest day of the year comes the release of "Lords of Summer" on iTunes worldwide. If you joined us for a show or two in South America or on the first leg of the European tour you will recognize it as the “new song” in the set. Our friends over at ESPN heard it and decided they want to kick off their summer by spinning it on and off all day Saturday, so you just might hear it again if you’re a sports fan in the States.

Those of you with astute ears will notice some minor differences from the version we streamed on YouTube and released on LiveMetallica.com... it’s still a work in progress, but we wanted to share it with you as it stands today... it most probably will change again!

Enjoy and we’ll see you out on the road kicking off at the Glastonbury Festival next week!